Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

A Salem Massachusetts woman, Kristen LaBrie, 37 years old, faced a judge in the Salem District Court and pleaded not guilty to charges that she committed attempted murder, assault and battery on a disabled person, wanton or recklessly permitting assault and battery on a child causing serious injury and child endangerment by withholding life saving chemotherapy treatment for her son. The Salem News reported that the Salem mom failed to fill prescriptions for and provide a liquid chemotherapy drug for her nine year old son who has since died.

During LaBrie's arraignement, the prosecutor stated that the authorities became suspicious when after being told to temporarily suspend the child's chemotherapy treatment because of the flu, LaBrie never followed up with the doctors to resume treatment. This conduct piqued the curiosity of the doctors. The Salem News reports that follow up revealled that multiple prescriptions for the child's medication had gone unfilled. LaBrie initially insisted that it must have been a mistake at the pharmacy however, it was later learned that the insurance company also had no record of paying for the prescriptions. The child ultimately died as a result of the cancer that the News reports was initially considered 90% curable.

In Massachusetts, the crime of simple assault and battery is considered a misdemeanor which is punishable by up to two and one half years in jail. See, M.G.L.A. 265 § 13A. The Massachusetts criminal charge of assault and battery on a child causing serious bodily injury is governed by M.G.L.A. 265 § 13J. If a defendant is found guilty of committing this criminal offense he or she can face up to five years in state prison and up to two and one half years in jail. For the purposes of assault and battery on a child causing serious bodily injury, anyone under the age of fourteen is considered a child. Furthermore, bodily injury is defined as follows:
". . . substantial impairment of the physical condition including any burn, fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma, injury to any internal organ, any injury which occurs as the result of repeated harm to any bodily function or organ including human skin or any physical condition which substantially imperils a child's health or welfare."